The present invention is in the field of X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) and particularly relates to XRF marking of electronic systems.
The present invention provides a novel technique for marking complementary (compatible) components of a composite system, such as an electronic system, by a unified marking/coding system/scheme (which is also referred to herein as One Board One code (OBOC) coding system/scheme.
More specifically the present invention provides for utilizing/employing elemental Id embedded in elemental (physical markings of components of electronic system) for providing brand protection and/or authentication of customized electronics, and/or providing liability of electronic components in medical devices (and in particular in wearable medical devices), and/or providing bridge liability for the coupling between virtual services or products and physical operational systems (for example the coupling between personal data and a smart clothing).
In various embodiments of the present invention the composite electronic system may be any system including an integrated circuit with plurality of components such as circuit boards (e.g. printed circuit boards (PCB) and/or flexible circuits), as well as electronic components to be electronically coupled/mounted on the circuit boards, such as processors and/or controllers and/or other chips and transistors of the circuit, data input/output/communication elements (e.g. RF and/or antenna modules), sensor modules (such as inertial sensors, camera, microphone as well as other sensors such as temperature and/or pressure and/or magnetic field sensors), user interface modules (e.g. screen, key-pad) and/or other electronic component of the composite electronic system which it to be electronically connected to the other components of the system (e.g. via the circuit board). Alternatively or additionally the composite system may be an electronic chip where one component thereof being the integrated circuit die of the chip and the second component may the packaging of the system (of the chip) in which the die is encapsulated. Yet alternatively or additionally the composite electronic system may be for example a distributed system including one or more separate components (which may be in this case separate devices) which are configured and operable together to carry out the operation of the composite system. For instance the composite electronic system may include an electronic system (e.g. an electronic control system), such as a health monitoring/treatment controller device and a complementary smart wearable product device (smart garment) connectable to the health monitoring/treatment controller, whereby the health controller device may be adapted for monitoring a condition of a user (e.g. by utilizing suitable sensors associated/connected thereto, and the smart wearable product may be configured to be responsive to signals from the health controller device for providing treatment to the user for example by releasing certain materials to the user's skin and/or applying pressure to one or more body parts of the user. Alternatively or additionally, the smart wearable device may be serving as the sensor measuring measurable health parameter of the user (e.g. measuring temperature and/or blood pressure and/or sweating rate and/or any other measurable health parameter of the user), and the health controller device may be responsive to signal from the smart wearable device and configured and operable for initiating the provision of treatment to the user, e.g. by issuing suitable alerts (via communication with the user and/or to other entities) and/or operating other treatment provider modules (such as cardiac pacemaker, insulin injector and/or other treatment provider modules).
In general the composite electronic system may include any number of complementary (compatible) components, where all or some of which may be marked with the OBOC coding scheme of the present invention. However for the sake of clarity and without limiting the scope of the invention, in the following description often discussed and exemplified are only two, first and second, complementary (compatible) components of the system, which are marked by the OBOC scheme of the present invention.
According to the OBOC marking technique of the present invention, at least two complementary/compatible components of the composite electronic system are marked by respective XRF identifiable marking compositions, which are coded to respectively carry/encode complementary XRF signatures, which may be similar—and/or matching—and/or corresponding—XRF signatures that are readable by XRF techniques. The first and second complementary/compatible components, which are marked by the XRF markings of complementary (similar/matching/corresponding) signatures, may for example include: (i) the electronic circuit board of the composite system and at least one electronic component mounted/connected thereon/thereto; and/or (ii) the packaging of the composite electronic system (e.g. the packaging of a chip) and the integrated circuit thereof (e.g. the die); and/or (iii) a first and second separated modules/devices of the composite system (e.g. a controller device and a smart wearable garment) which may be connectable to one another by wires or wirelessly.
In this regards it should be noted that the phrase similar signatures is used herein to specifically designate a case in which the XRF spectral response of the XRF marking of the two components of the composite system are similar in at least a predetermined portion thereof (e.g. at least one spectral part thereof), and/or that they are indicative of similar marking compositions. To this end, the similar XRF signatures may pertain to the similar concentrations of the active, XRF responsive, marker elements in the respective substrates from which the respective XRF signals carrying the signatures were emitted, but may have different actual XRF spectra due to the effects of the substrate (material and/or texture) to which the XRF marking is applied and/or due to the technique by which the marking is applied to the substrate. The phrase matching signatures is used herein to specifically designate a case in which a match between the signatures can be determined by processing the XRF signatures based on a certain predetermined formula/constraint to determine whether they are complementary (whether there exists a matching between them, e.g. without a need for utilizing external reference data to associated). In this sense, the similar signatures are a particular case of matching signature in which the match constraint is equality between them. Another way for determining a match between to signatures (after translating them to numerical values) is for example to check whether their addition sums up to a predetermined check sum value. The phrase corresponding XRF signatures is used herein to designate the case where a correspondence between the signatures can be verified by any suitable technique (e.g. utilizing reference data such as a lookup table (LUT) defining the correspondence between signatures. To this end matching signatures are generally a particular case of corresponding signatures, in which the match is determined by a predetermined relation between the signatures, thus not requiring use of external reference data.
The marking technique and the coding system of the present invention may be utilized in manufacturing customized electronics (custonomics) and personalized electronic components. For example, the code in a circuit embedded in a smart garment (e.g. for medical use), and the garment itself may be marked by a code associated with an individual. Such a smart garment for example may be custom made for a person with a medical condition (e.g. as a medical prescription) and the XRF marking may be used to verify that the customized garment is supplied to the right person.
The XRF marking can be used for the following purposes:                Anti-counterfeit measure wherein the circuit board and various components may be marked. In particular, the XRF marking can be used for verifying, during the assembly, that the components to be assembled on the circuit board are ‘authentic’ and were manufactured by the original manufacturer. This aspect of the invention may provide authenticity and security measure for suppliers and end users as well. For example, upon receiving a circuit board the user can use the marking to authenticate the source, or type of the various components. Additionally, the marking allows the user to hand over the possession of the circuit (e.g. for repair or upgrade) and have the ability to verify that the circuit was not tampered with, for example the user can verify that none of the components has been replaced and that only authorized components have been installed. In addition, the marking can be used for verifying that the component is assembled at ‘correct’ position on the circuit board.        A component manufacturer can verify using such markings that the components are getting to the ‘right’ destination in order to prevent unauthorized trade of his components.        Supply chain management and control of supply chain diversion wherein the marking may include information relevant to the control of supply and production activities. For example, a number of marking composition may be applied at different stages of production and/or supply providing indication of the current production stage.        Manufacturer of smart clothing (wearable devices) can use such marking of one or both the garment (wearable object) and the circuits and electronic components which are to be assembled/attached to the garment are authentic and compatible. In particular, such marking may be of crucial importance in smart wearable objects that are used for medical purposes (see for example US 2016/0022982), wherein both the garment and the circuit board usually have special properties (the garment for example may include conductive threads) and must be of high quality.        
The marking composition may be applied to the circuit board and the components at a single location or alternatively at different facilities. For example, the XRF markings of the components of the PCB may be applied at the facility of the of an authorized manufacturer. These marking may be read at the assembly facility of the circuit board authenticating the origin of the components.
The entire circuit and its components may be marked by same composition/the same XRF-signature/code-word. Alternatively, the various parts or components may be marked by the different code words of the same XRF-signature/code. For example, an XRF signature of a component may include a prefix containing information associated with the circuit board as a whole (indicating, for example the type of the circuit, the date of assembly, the destination or the client to which the circuit is to be sent) and a suffix including information associated with the component (type of component the manufacturer, the date of manufacturing, and so on).
The coding system associated with the marking may also include localized marking in different locations on a circuit board and/or on a single component, such that the configuration of the locations of the marking constitute part of the code. Namely, the specific locations of the markings would be incorporated in the code word associated with the marking. In other words, in some embodiments of the present invention the method/system (e.g. XRF reader) for reading the marking includes operating means, such as an imager and/or image recognition means) for identifying and determining the location of the marking on the marked component (on the marked circuit board), and for determining the code word read from the marking based on both (i) the XRF signal obtained from the marking; and (ii) the location of the marking on the marked component.
For the purpose of controlling the chain of supply (e.g. controlling unauthorized supply chain diversion) a number of marking compositions (each with a different XRF signature) may be applied to the circuit board at a number of location along the chain of supply or the assembly line such that reading the XRF markings provides information relating to the assembly of the circuit.
The XRF marking composition applied to a circuit board or to its components does not interfere with the electric or magnetic properties of the board or its components. Also the XRF marking composition may be configured such that it does not alter the appearance of the circuit board such that other legends markings and logos are not affected by the application of the marking composition (e.g. it may be by itself transparent and/or it may be embedded invisibly into the marked substrate material of the component).
The marking composition may also be applied to flexible circuits which may be included in wearable products and smart clothing used for medical purposes, fitness and workout as well as fashion and lifestyle. For example, smart shoes measuring biomechanical data, smart clothes that adjust to outside temperature and/or a garment that includes sensors measuring biometric indicators such as heart rate, skin moisture, and skin temperature. Smart garments may also be used for therapeutic purposes such as delivering electric shocks to the heart in case of cardiac arrest.
The smart garment may comprise of special materials and fabrics (for example breathable fabrics or fabrics which include conductive threads) and may be manufactured by different manufacturers.
The marking composition in this case may be applied to both flexible circuit (e.g. flexible circuit board), and to the fabric, authenticating both components. In addition, the marking may be used for quality control and control of chain of supply wherein only fabrics and associated circuit marked by suitable XRF signatures or codes may be assembled/combined together.
Thus according to a broad aspect of the present invention there is provided an electronic system including a plurality of components comprising at least a first and a second electronic components. The first electronic component includes a first XRF marking composition configured for emitting a first XRF signal having a first XRF signature in response to irradiation thereof by XRF exciting radiation. The second electronic component includes a second XRF marking composition configured for emitting a second XRF signal having a second XRF signature in response to irradiation thereof by XRF exciting radiation. The first and second XRF markings are respectively configured such that the first XRF signature of the first electronic component corresponds to the second XRF signature of the second electronic component thereby enabling verification that said first and second electronic components are respectively compatible components of said electronic system.
According to another broad aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for verifying compatibility of components of an electronic system that includes at least a first and a second electronic components. The method includes:                providing a first component and a second components presumably associated with the electronic system;        irradiating the first and second components with XRF exciting radiation;        detecting one or more XRF response signals emitted in response to said irradiating from the first and second components;        processing the one or more XRF response signals to identify a first and a second XRF signatures associated respectively with first and second XRF marking compositions on said first and second components;        upon identification of the of the first and second XRF signatures, processing said first and second signatures to determine a correspondence between them, and verifying a verifying compatibility of said first and second components to the electronic system based on said correspondence.        
It should be noted that in various embodiments and implementations of the present invention the marked components of the system may include respectively different substrates to which the XRF markings are applied. Accordingly there may be a need for calibrating the XRF measurements performed on different components of different substrates.
Therefore according yet another broad aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for calibrating XRF measurements of XRF markings applied to one or more substrate materials. The method includes carrying out the following:                providing plurality of samples of including samples of various substrate material and various XRF marking compositions of different concentrations of XRF marker elements on the various substrate materials;        interrogating the plurality of samples of the particular substrate material by an XRF analyzer to determine for each sample a counts per second (CPS) value indicative of photons of a certain energy range(s) associated with the XRF marking elements;        determining and storing calibration data XRF for use on measurements of XRF markers applied to said substrate materials, whereby said calibration data includes data associating the predetermined/a-priory-known concentration of the XRF marker elements in the plurality of samples with the corresponding CPSs obtained from the respective samples. In this case, the calibration data may be used to determine the code-word of the marking based on the CPSs obtained from each sample.        
Alternatively or additionally, the calibration procedure may include determining the XRF response spectra (e.g. the CPSs) obtained from a sample of a predetermined substrate (e.g. having known material and possibly known texture) to which a certain predetermined marking composition has been applied, and recording that XRF response as the code-word associated with the marked substrate, i.e. marking of the predetermined substrate by the predetermined marking composition. In this case, the XRF response spectra itself (possibly together with additional information such as the location of the marking on the object being marked) may represent the code word associated with that predetermined marking while on/in that predetermined substrate. That is, in this case the code-word is not related and not directly indicative of the concentrations/relative-concentrations of the marking elements, but is also associated with and affected by the properties of the substrate and the marking application technique, i.e. the unique XRF signature is formed by a combined response of the marked substrate to predetermined “reading” (exciting) radiation. For example, a lot of similar objects/substrates (i.e. objects produced by the same technique and having the same or very similar material composition and layout) may be associated with (identifiable by) the same reference/calibration XRF signature. Such signature is determined as stored to serve the reference one, upon applying the marking to one of the objects (or test object) and reading the XRF response therefrom.
Also in certain implementations the method also includes performing an SNR optimization step which is carried out by applying XRF interrogations with different XRF parameters, to said plurality of samples, to determine an optimized set of XRF parameters which optimizes an SNR of the XRF measurements of that substrate materials, and optionally storing said optimized set of XRF parameters in the calibration data.
According to further yet another embodiment of the present invention there is provided an XRF reader including an XRF analyzer for interrogating an object and detecting an XRF response signal indicative of a spectral XRF signature of a marking composition applied to the object; and a signature calibration module associated with calibration data indicative of a correspondence between spectral XRF signature and concentrations of XRF marking elements of said object at which said XRF marking elements are included. The signature calibration module is adapted to utilize said spectral XRF signature to determine concentrations of XRF marking elements in said object based on the calibration data.